Let Your Sleep Work For You
Simple, easy, at home habits to add to your routine that will help you put the “beauty” back in “beauty sleep.”
The age-old term “beauty sleep,” is something we have all heard about for as long as we can probably remember. When we’re young, we don’t want anything to do with this “sleep” and when we grow up, we just don’t really ever have the time for it – or, at least enough of it.
Our parents were right, there is a lot of truth behind the power of a good night’s sleep. As you know, sleep is when our body repairs itself. Our skin, our brains, and our muscles are all designed to repair themselves while we enjoy our ever-so-sought-after shuteye.
The age-old term “beauty sleep,” is something we hear from the time we are very young to the time when we are older, but one thing remains true – we can never quite seem to get enough of it. When we’re young, we don’t want to sleep a lot and when we grow up, we simply never have the time to. That being said, there are a few simple habits that you can add into your routine to further boost the benefits your body reaps from sleep. We know the life of a nurse is stressful, we know there are never enough hours in the day – and that is why we’re here to help you let your sleep work for you.
Even if you are able to get the recommended 8 hours, these simple tips will take your night’s sleep from something you do to survive to a time that helps you thrive. Are you on Night Shift? Here are even more tips to keep you bright eyed at night time.
1. Square One, A Clean Slate – Slow & Steady Wins the Race
The most important thing to do before heading to catch your nightly Zzzzz’s is to make sure your skin is thoroughly cleansed prior to going to bed. Think about it, your skin is about to have hours to soak up whatever is on its surface – wouldn’t we rather our skin soak up healthy products than an entire days’ worth of dust, pollution, and germs? Most importantly, adopt the 60-second rule. It takes 20 or more seconds to get germs off of your hands, and washing your face is no different.
2. Moisturizer Mandate
One of the best things you can do for your skin and nails during sleep is moisturize, moisturize, and we cannot emphasize this enough – yup, you guessed it… moisturize. Any number of hours is a long time for your skin to go without water, that’s why it is important to not only religiously hydrate during the day but to give your skin the boost it needs to stay moisturized since well, uh, of course, we can’t drink water while we sleep. We recommend a heavy night moisturizer, cream for your elbows, hands, and feet, and a lip mask – each of these products are super affordable, can be substituted, but will ensure you don’t awaken to dry, cracking skin.
CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion PM – $12
3. Beating Bedhead, Lock-in Your Lovely Locks
We know time is short, and nothing is worse than waking up from a restful and well-needed night of sleep only to look in the mirror and realize you have to spend a ton of time fixing your hair in order to get out the door. There are few solutions to this, and we’ve tested out both of them. The culprit of that messy hair is not who you’d expect… It’s not your tosses and turns, it’s your pillowcase. Cotton pillowcases absorb the oils from your hair, whereas silk pillowcases help your hair keep its moisture and style. A shortcut to this is to buy a silk head wrap, which we will do a product review of in our next post.
0 Comments